Combination-tool.



J. H. WALKER.

COMBINATION TOOL.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 24. 1914.

mmjmm Patented Apn13; 1915.

WITNESSES INVENTOR Mae w 6% M94 #077 A TTOR/VEYS THE NORRIS PETERS 60., PHOTO-LlTl-IQ, WASHINGTON. D. C

JOHN" H. WALKER, O15 LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY.

COMBINATION-TOOL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

Application filed February 24, 1914. Serial No. 820,610.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. WALKER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Lexington, in the county of Fayette and State of Kentucky, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Combination-Tools, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to measuring instruments and more particularly to a combination tool adapted for use in carpentry, drafting, masonry and other work of a similar nature.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a tool which may be used as a straight edge and rule; a double right angle square; a double try-square; a double bevel square; and a double protractor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tool of the class described having a stock and pivot blades adapted to be housed therein, the blades being movable and being provided with thumb catches whereby they may be quickly withdrawn from the stock, the thumb catches also adapted to serve as scribers in laying off work.

A further object is to provide in a device of the class described, a means for pivoting the arms to the stock whereby the former will have suflicient stiffness of movement to hold them in adjusted position against the ordinary pressure exerted in using a pencil or other marker.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a tool such as described, which will be exceedingly simple, durable, eflicient in operation and inexpensive to manufacture, and which may be readily carried about in a workmans pocket ready for immediate use.

With these and other objects in View which will become apparent as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the figures, of which Figure 1 represents a plan view of the tool showing one of the blades as in position to co-act with the stock to serve the purpose of a protractor in laying off a 45 angle, the other blade acting in combination with the stock as a try-square. Fig. 2 represents a plan view of the device, the blades being shown in housed position within the stock, F1g. 3 represents an end elevational view lookmg at the device in the position shown 1n Fig. 1, from the top of the page, Fig. 4: represents a perspective view of one of the blades detached, Fig. 5 is a vertical 1ongitudinal detail sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line 55 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 6 represents a detail plan view, the stock being partly broken away and partly shown in section, the free ends of the blades being represented as housed within the stock.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, 5 indicates the stock of the tool, which is preferably formed of a single strip of metal bent into a substantially Ushape, to provide spaced and parallel arms 6, connected at one end by a bridge 7, the opposite ends of the arms being rounded on the arc of a circle, as at 8.

The blades 9, are each formed of a strip of metal, having parallel straight upper and lower edges 10 and 11 respectively, said arms at one end being rounded as at 12, and formed with substantially semi-circular cars 13 on their lower edge, which ears at one end merge with the rounded portions 12 of the blades. The opposite ends of the blades, are cut away at the corners of lower edge 11, as shown at 14:, the extreme outer ends 15 of the upper edges of the blades being left intact and being squared where by they may be used as scribers in marking out units of length on the work, by slightly lifting the blades so that one of the sharp edges may be drawn across the work to make a scratch thereon.

The ends of the blades on which ears 13 are formed are provided with round openings 16 to which the lower edges of the blades are tangent, said openings being positioned in the center of the circle of which the curve of the ears forms an arc, and through the openings passes a cylindrical rivet 17, whereby the blades are pivoted between the arms 6 of the stock, said arms being provided at their ends opposite the bridge 7 with registering openings 18, disposed concentric with the center of the circle of which the rounded portions 8 of the arms form arcs.

The rounded portions 8 of the arms are oppositely disposed as may be seen in Fig. 3, and terminate at what may be termed their inner ends at shoulders 19, formed at the endsof substantially arcuate integral portions 20 forming extensions of the arms.-

The shoulders are oppositely disposed as shown, and lie in the medial longitudinal plane of the arms, as do also the centers of the openings 18 through which. the outer ends of the rivet 17 extend.

By pivoting the blades to the stock, so that the pivot point of theblades lie just inside their lower edges, it is apparent that when the blades are folded into housed position, as shown in Fig. 2, the upper edges 10 of the blades extend somewhat beyond the stock on each side thereof, the width of the blades being equal to the width of the stock. In order that the outward movement of the blades may be limited when they have attainedan angle of 90 to the stock, they are provided at the points Where the curved portions 12 merge with the upper edges of the blades, with'stop' lugs 21,;adapted to engage the shoulders 19 for the purpose set out. The curved portions 12 of the blades,

are eccentric to the ears 13, so that they project somewhat beyond the ends of the arms 6. Then the blades are disposed in alinement, and both at right angles to the stock, as; illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the

upper edges of the blades lie in the same plane, and the inner end of the upper straight edge of one blade overlies the inner end of the upper straight edge of the other blade, 'so that a marker such as a pencil may be drawn along the upper edges of the plades, to form an uninterrupted straight me. v. r Y The openings18 in the arm 6 into which the opposite ends of rivet 17extend, are conically reamed from the outer surface of arms 6 to about the central portions thereof, as indicated at 21, and the rivet is formed at one end with a head 22 provided with oppositely disposed conical surfaces 23 and 24, of which the surface 24 forms with the outer portion of the bevel surface.

21 of one of openings18, n annular substantially V-shaped groove surrounding the head of the rivet.

The blades are disposed'at their inner ends on rivets 17 in opposite relation, and

are spaced'apart by a hardened washer 25,

and are spaced from the inner surface of arms 6 by hardened washers 26. When the blades and washers are in position, the end 27 of the rivet opposite head 22, is meshed down into a form substantially equal to head 22, and the V-shaped' grooves surrounding the opposite ends of the rivet may then have metal indicated at 28 Welded into them, to fill in crevices which might occur between the heads of the rivet and the arms, and also to absolutely fix the rivet with relation to the arms, both as against radial movement and as against transverse movement relative to the arms.

enough in their movement to prevent accidental movement, and to withstand the ordinary pressure exerted in using a pencil or other marker. The openings 16 in the blades are of a diameter to snugly fit over the rivet 17 which thus acts as a pivot for the blades.

Should the stifi'ness of movement of the blades be too great, the rivet can be slightly tapped on one end so as to relieve the pressure on the washers sui'liciently to allow them easy movement of the blades, and on the other hand should the movement be too loose, the rivet can be mashed from both ends so as toincrease the pressure on the washers, however, the stiiiness of the movement of the blades having once been regulated, will remain the same until enough wear has occurred to loosen the movement, and in order to prevent the wearing of the parts, the engaging portions of the blades with thewashers are hardened, the washers being also formed of hardened material, as stated before.

The length of the upper edges 10 of the blades is somewhat greater than the length of the stock, and as indicated in Fig. 2, when the blades are in housed position, the portions 15 thereof extend somewhat beyond the end of the stock, and thus form thumb holds which may be readily grasped for quickly withdrawing the blades from the stock.

The upper edges of the blades on each side thereof are graduated, as indicated at 29, to form a'ruler. The outer surfaces of the'arms 6 of the stock, are provided with transversely extending scores 30, increasing in intervals from the pivot point 17 toward the outer end of the stock, and so disposed as to co-act with scores 31 cut in the lower portions of the blades on opposite sides thereof, as to form a double protractor, by means of which the blades may co-act with the stock in laying off various angles. The

scores 30 are disposed'transversely of the stock at right angles to its longitudinal edges, and the scores 31 are so disposed that when the blades are moved relative to the stock, each score when in perfect alinement with its cooperating score 30 will determine I said blade at an angle of 4i5 with the stock.

The scores 30 of the stock are provided with characters 32 indicating the different angles at which the blades are disposed relative to the stock, when the cooperating marks or scores on the blades and stock are in alinement with each other. The scores 31 extend clear to the lower edges of the blades, and at the meeting points of scores 31 with the lower edges of the blades, scores 33 are provided which. lie at right angles to the scores 31, and which are in perfect alinement with the longitudinal edges of the stock when the adjacent scores 31 are in alinement with their cooperating scores on the stock, whereby a perfect adjustment of the blades relative to the stock may be had.

The tool may be used as a straight edge and rule, even when the blades are in housed position, since the outer or ruled edges of the blades extend slightly beyond the edges of the stock, so that ordinarily it will not be necessary in measuring short distances to withdraw the blades from the housing. When both of the blades are disposed in alinement with each other, and at right angles to the stock, the instrument may be used as a rule and straight edge, or as a double right angle square and double trysquare, and as is obvious by reason of the blades being movable relative to the stock, the instrument may be used as a double or single bevel square, and also as a double protractor.

Although I have described the preferred embodiment of my invention, I may desire to make such changes in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts thereof, as do not depart from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. A combination tool comprising a stock formed of a strip of metal bent into U-shape to provide parallel spaced arms, a rivet connecting said arms at their free ends, blades pivoted at one end on said rivet between said arms, a washer disposed on the rivet between the blades, and a washer disposed on the rivet between each blade and the adja cent arm, the free ends of said arms being provided with oppositely disposed curved portions concentric with the center of said rivet, said rivet being disposed centrally between the edges of the arms, said blades provided at their inner ends with arcuate ears, and openings with which the curve of the ears is concentric and through which said. rivet extends, the lower edges of the blades being tangent with respect to said openings, oppositely disposed shoulders formed on said arms and lying in the medial longitudinal plane of the stock, at the inner ends of the curved portions of the arms, lugs formed on said blades adapted to engage said shoulders for limiting the move ment of the blades when the latter are at blades being further provided with other scores at right angles to the second scores and adapted to co-act with the second scores so as to lie in parallel relation with the edges of the stock in determining at what points the blades should remain to form certain angles with the stock. a

2. A tool of the class described including a stock comprising a pair of spaced parallel arms, said arms provided at one end with alining openings, said openings being conically rimmed from the outer faces of the arms to about their center, a rivet connecting said arms and extending through said openings, said rivet formed at one end with a head having a conical portion adapted to engage the conical portion of one of the openings and with a second conical portion disposed oppositely to the first said portion, so as to form a substantially V-shaped an-. nular groove around the head of the rivet, the opposite end of said rivet extending through the opposite opening, and adapted to be meshed so as to form a substantially ll-shaped groove extending around said opposite end of the rivet, metal welded into the annular V-shaped grooves surrounding the ends of the rivet, a pair of blades pivoted on said rivet between the said arms, a washer between said blades, and a washer between each blade and the adjacent arm, said arms, blades and washers adapted to be held in close contact with each other for providing a still movement of the blades.

8. A tool of the class described comprising a stock having spaced parallel arms, a pair of blades pivotally connected at one end to said stock, oppositely disposed shoulders formed on said arms and lying in the medial longitudinal plane of the arms, and lugs projecting laterally from said blades and adapted to cooperate with the shoulders to limit the movement of the blades relative to the stock when said blades are at a predetermined angle with the stock.

4. A. tool of the class described, comprising a stock having straight parallel edges, a pair of blades pivoted to one end thereof, said stock provided with transverse scores at right angles to the stock, said blades provided with scores each of which is adapted to co-act with one of said transverse scores in determining at what point the blades should be moved to be positioned at a predetermined angle relative to the stock, each of last said scores adapted to fall in alinement With its cooperating score on the stock When the blade is in proper position, said blades further provided with scores at right angles to the second said scores, and connected With the latter at the inner edges of the blades, each of the last said scores adapted When the score with Which it lies at right angles is in alinement with its cooperating score on the stock, to lie in parallel relation with the adjacent edge of the stock. 5. In a tool of the class described, the combination With a stock having arms spaced apart at one end and a pair of blades pivoted at one end between the spaced arm ends, of shoulders formed one on each stock arm in the medial line thereof, said shoulders being disposed oppositely to each other, and lugs projecting laterally and in opposite directions from the blades and adapted to coact with the shoulders in limiting the movement of said blades.

JOHN H. WALKER.

Witnesses:

\V. M. Evans, Geo. P. NASH, Jr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

